Chapter 40: Chapter 40

The fleeting camaraderie that Sebastian and Carol shared the night before they left Paris disappeared as though it had never been when they got back home. Carol never saw much of Sebastian in the months that followed that time, and when she did see him, he acted as though they were strangers. The only time that there was a semblance of normalcy between them was whenever his uncle called and they had to talk to the man together. As time passed, Carol began to hate this arrangement with a passion. If he wanted to act like she did not exist, then it was better that he did so all the time, and not just when it suited his purposes. He made sure that she got her monthly allowance at the end of every month, and even doubled it, making it a hundred thousand dollars from the fifty thousand that it was when she first started to live with him.

When Carol asked him about it, he told her that it was a reward that he thought that she should have for playing her part in trying to convince his uncle that they were beginning to fall in love. Soon after they got back from Paris, Carol had called her sister and invited her over, but surprisingly. She had declined, to Carol's great relief, and then guilt, although she squashed the guilt immediately. The last thing she needed to do was to deal with Victoria’s petulance and insubordinate attitude.

Time passed quickly and before Carol knew it, she was in the fifth month of this sham of a marriage. All she did every day was wake up, eat, go shopping, come back home and then sleep. Since she did not have any friends to talk to or go visit, most of her time was spent indoors or in the garden painting different works, which she sent to various homeless shelters. Because of how bored she was, she was beginning to think of looking for a job so that she would have somewhere to go to and people to talk to, but she did not know what sort of job to look for.

This particular afternoon, she was seated in the garden as usual, but this time around, she was not painting anything. She was just seated under the shade of one of the trees there and enjoying the breeze when her phone rang. It was Mr. James who was calling her.

“Hello, Mr. James.” She said into the phone, wondering why on earth he was calling her. He seldom did, as he preferred to call his nephew, and then speak to her if he wanted to do so. She herself never saw any reason to call him, as she felt that they were not that close, something that he complained about all the time.

“Hello, Carol. How are you doing today?”

“I’m fine, thank you, sir. I was thinking of calling you later in the evening, but I guess you beat me to it.” She lied. She had had no intention of doing such a thing. As far as she was concerned, the less she was involved with this family until she could break free of their grasp, the better for her.

“Oh, that’s okay. So how’s everything generally?”

“Everything’s fine.”

“And how is your beloved husband?”

“He is doing very well, Mr. James.”

“I hope he is taking good care of you.” He said.

“Yes, sir. He is. I’m so lucky that he cares so much for me. I must admit that when I first came here, I never knew that I was going to have it so sweet and easy, but now I’m really glad that everything turned out this way.” She lied. If Sebastian was paying her fifty grand for her to pretend to be in love with him, then she would gladly do so. That was a lot of money.

“Oh. You don’t know how much it gladdens my heart to hear that. How about my boy? I hope he is truly happy and not just putting up a front.”

“I think he is sir. He seems so different from the man I started living with months ago.”

“Okay. I’m happy to hear that. Now, I hope you have started to put plans in motion concerning what I told you. I take it that you both have consummated your marriage now, considering that you both seem happier.” He stated matter of factly. Carol blushed fiercely, wondering why on earth they were having this weird conversation.

“Um…well. We’re taking it slow and getting to know each other. There’s no rush.”

“But it’s been five months! Are you sure Sebastian is not seeing other women?”

Carol was not sure of anything of the sort, but she was not about to tell that to Mr. James. “No, of course not. Sebastian wouldn’t do that. The thing is, you know we only met each other for the first time on the day before the wedding. We’re practically married strangers, so we decided to get to know each other well so that when we do decide to consummate the marriage, which should be anytime from now, hopefully, it won’t be weird.” She finished hoping that this lie did not sound as bogus as it sounded to her to Mr. Sebastian too.

“Hmm. That makes sense, I guess.”

“So, here’s the thing. I’ve thought long and hard about what to give you both as your wedding present. You know I haven’t given you guys a wedding present yet, so I’ve decided on what I think you guys will like.”

“Oh? What’s that?” Carol asked politely.

“An all-expense paid vacation by me. Yes, I think that will be perfect. Sebastian will have no choice but to go on it since it will already be fully paid for, plus I will insist that he does not waste my money by refusing to go. I know Sebastian very well, and so I know that the honeymoon you both claimed to go on in Paris must have been a business honeymoon.”

“Oh.”

“Yes. The thing is I don’t know where you both would like to go. I think I will put the question to you since Sebastian has been to most places in the world. Where would you like to go on vacation with your husband, Carol?”

Carol, who did not know what to say, stammered into the phone. “Um, I don’t know. Maybe we should ask Sebastian. Are you sure that he will want to go?”

“Even if he does not want to, you’ll convince him to do so. I have a feeling that this vacation will draw both of you even closer than you are now. So I ask again, where will you like to go for your vacation?”

Carol did not have to think long. “I’d love to go to the Maldives.”

“Alright then. The Maldives it is. When Sebastian comes back from work, inform him about it so that you guys can pick the dates you will love to go on. Good enough, this is the time of the year around which he usually takes vacations, so he will have no excuse.”

“Alright. Thank you, sir. I will.”

“Okay, Carol. One more thing. I would prefer it if you called me uncle. You’re part of the family now.”

“Yes, uncle.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

***

Mr. James cut the call and faced his expectant wife who was sitting beside him on the bed and listening to the one-sided conversation.

“Is she pregnant yet?” She asked.

“No, not yet. They haven’t even had sex yet. I don’t know why they are taking so long.”

“Hmm.”

“Anyway, I have them in the palms of my hands. Carol is going to tell Sebastian about the vacation tonight. Hopefully, he’ll agree to go on it the same way he has been agreeing with everything I say lately. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that you told him about the sickness and he was feeling sorry for me.” He told his wife.

“Of course not. Why would I do that? Sickness is not something to brag about.”

“Once they are there, I’ll have them exactly where I want them, and then we’ll strike.” He told his wife, and she nodded somberly, agreeing with him.